15
Careful…. careful…
Dipper's tongue stuck out slightly at the corner of his mouth in concentration, as he ever so gently lowered the final card onto the house he had been building for the past hour. Once again Dipper and his twin sister Mabel found themselves spending the summer at their Grunkle's place in Gravity Falls, and once again Dipper was the one who was forced to watch over Grunkle Stan's gift shop while Mabel was off galavanting. The worst part? There hadn't been a customer for hours, this tourist trap was empty.
The tourist season, if it could even be called that around here, didn't start for a few more weeks. So until then Dipper's duties were limited to keeping things tidy, attending to the occasional hikers or roadtrippers that made their way to Gravity Falls and thus to the shop, and staving off boredom. The latter was beginning to become painfully difficult. Finally the last card of his house was in place, and Dipper leaned back and let out a sigh of relief. He cracked a smile as he inspected it closely, making sure everything was in place. In the middle of his triumph however, the front door to the shop was thrown resulting air pressure change toppled over the house of cards, and Dipper slammed his head onto the counter in absolute defeat.
"Are. You. Kidding me-", Dipper began, but stopped short in sulking when he realized who came in.
Mabel ran into the shop, tears streaming down her face. Before Dipper could open his mouth to ask what was wrong she stomped up the stairs into the attic and slammed the door. Dipper stared at the attic stairs, mouth slightly open in confusion, then tore up the stairs to see what was wrong with his sister. He cautiously approached the door and rapped on it gently with his knuckle.
"H- hey Mabes? Can I come in?"
"Mmmphmm" was all that came from inside the room.
"Uh, o-okay, I'm coming in Mabel" Dipper said as he reached for the knob and turned it quietly. The room beyond was in darkness, and Dipper had to squint in order to see in the dimness. Mabel sat on her bed, legs bent up to her torso, face buried in her sweater. Her soft sobs muffled in the fabric of her sleeves. As Dipper watched his sister, every sob was like a punch to his gut. What had happened? What had made Mabel so sad? He needed to know, to make her feel better. He sat down on the bed beside her and placed his hand gently on Mabel's shoulder.
"Mabel, can you tell me what's wong?"
Mabel shook her head without a word.
"Mabel… please talk to me," he pleaded, "I want to help you."
Slowly she raised her head, wiping some tears away on her sleeve. Looking up at her brother their eyes met. Those eyes, Mabel's big chocolate eyes, they were filled with such sadness, it absolutely killed Dipper. He opened his mouth to say something comforting, but suddenly Mabel hugged him around the midsection and buried her face in his chest. Then the crying really began. Mabel began to heave with her sobs, and her cries vibrated in Dipper's chest cavity. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and rested his chin on her head.
"Shh, Mabel it's alright, I'm here, just tell me what happened."
"Joe…" Mabel began shakily, "he- told me he loved me last week… and today he-" she stifled another sob, her lower lip quivering.
"He what Mabes?" Dipper asked softly as he raised her head to look up at him.
"He dumped me for someone else," she burst into tears anew, "he lied to me!"
Dipper embraced Mabel again as her crying continued, gently stroking her soft hair. For several more minutes they simply sat on her bed together, locked in their hug, until eventually Mabel's crying subsided. Still Dipper held her, making absolutely sure that she was okay before finally letting her go. They sat side by side now, Mabel staring down at her covers, Dipper watching his sister intently. Eventually Mabel looked up at him, again he looked into her eyes, they were still sad, but as they stared at him the sorrow lifted from them a little.
"Thank you Dip…" she said softly.
"Hey, don't mention it sis, I'm always here for you," Dipper said with a smile, "and hey, I've got an idea, just wait right here for me, I'll be back in a few minutes." He got off the bed and went to the door, and turned back to her before walking out. "You'll stay right there won't you?"
She gave him a little nod, and he found himself thinking how cute it was, and then how strange that thought was. He pushed the thought aside for now and rushed down the stairs and out the door. He ran down to the gas station and quickly bought a surprise for Mabel. On his way out he spotted something and his blood immediately boiled.
"Hey, Joe!" he yelled across the gas station lot.
Mabel's former boyfriend stopped his walk home and turned to face Dipper, who was now stomping towards him. "Oh, hey Dipper, what's up?" In answer Dipper slugged Joe in the jaw with all the strength he had. Joe spun around as his head snapped sideways and he crumpled to the ground, covering his face with both hands.
"If you fuck with my sister then you fuck with me too," Dipper spat, and sauntered off fuming.
As he walked home Dipper's thoughts began to wander back to his ideas from before. Had he really thought that Mabel looked cute? Well sure, she was, people said that all the time. But I've never said it. A sudden tightness formed in his stomach. Was he attracted to Mabel? Nope. No chance. That's your sister dude, what's wrong with you? With that he reassured himself that he was just being a caring brother, and picked up his pace for the final stretch home. He almost flew up the stairs and into the attic, holding Mabel's surprise behind his back. When he entered Mabel was still sitting on her bed. Looking up at Dipper she smiled, a smile that could melt anyone's heart, and it sure as hell melted his, and for the third time those eyes, they just got to him.
"Dip? Where did you go?" Mabel cocked her head slightly.
"Right!" Dipper snapped back into the moment, his cheeks turning red after realizing he had been staring. He approached the bed sheepishly and handed Mabel her surprise. Her face cracked with a genuine smile.
"You know chocolate always makes me feel better…" she said happily.
"Yyyes I do, you are my other half after all," they exchanged giggles, "and Mabes?"
"Yeah Dipper?"
"Don't worry about that asshole, you deserve better anyway," his voice lowered "and besides… I DO love you, and I always will."
"I- I love you too Dipper."
Dipper laid down in his bed and opened up a book, but he wasn't reading. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as Mabel opened the chocolate and took a bite. She closed her eyes and smiled as the chocolate melted in her mouth. That was the way Mabel liked to eat chocolate, Dipper knew that. He knew everything about her, and she about him… or almost everything, but what she didn't know she couldn't know, because Dipper didn't even know what he felt. As Mabel laid back in bed and sighed contentedly with her surprise, Dipper stared distantly at the words on the pages of his book. The tightness came back to his stomach. He tried to start reading to take his mind off of everything, but didn't obey, there was only one thing on his mind.
Mabel.
